Star Trek: Guardian
by S Enochs
Summary: Whisked Away From His Comfortable Life At Deep Space 2, Tom Erickson Has Been Chosen To Test Starfleet's First Slipstream-Capable Ship: The U.S.S Guardian. Something Sinister Lurks Around The Corner That Will Change The Federation Forever.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek and all that jazz._

_Commander's Personal Log: Stardate 58111.1. I received news this morning that I will be getting a visit from Admiral Foster tomorrow. I can't begin to think why he would travel all the way to DS2 to visit. Hopefully he brings good news, though I sincerely doubt it._

**************

It was abnormally hot in my quarters; far too hot to sleep. I propped myself up on one arm and wiped the sweat from my forehead with my free hand. "Computer, what's the temperature in here?"

"It is twenty-seven degrees Celsius."

_No wonder_, I thought. I tapped my combadge. "Erickson to McClure."

"Yes, Commander?" came a voice as smooth as Bolian silk. Bethany McClure was, by far, the best engineer that we could ever have asked for. Deep Space 2 had a massive share of problems, but Bethany somehow always seemed to find a way to be on top of things. She wasn't particularly bad looking, either.

"Lieutenant, I believe there's something wrong the environmental controls in my quarters. It's twenty-seven degrees in here."

"I'll get right on it, Sir."

"No hurries. Just a heads-up. Erickson out." There was silence again.

I laid flat on my back. My head made a "ploof" sound when it hit the pillow.

Admiral Carlson had originally placed me here three years ago, so far from everything else, to keep me out of trouble. I had been known for voicing my opinion, especially when my opinion was different than those of a much higher rank. Carlson had told me that he hoped I'd be able to command a station better than my mouth. I had been angry then... but I had rather fond of this old bucket-of-bolts.

I slept a dreamless sleep, and morning came much sooner than I would have liked. The dome light in my quarters slowly illuminated indicating that the new day had come, though it was only zero-five-hundred hours. Hardly what could be considered morning.

My door chirped. I frowned instinctively.

Who in the universe would be foolish enough to come to my quarters this early in the morning? Everyone knew that I was NOT a morning person.

I slowly melted out of the bed, and clumsily sprang to my feet. I made a quick mental note that it was a good deal cooler in my quarters now. Bethany must have fixed whatever was wrong with the climate control.

I grabbed a silver robe that had been hanging on a chair and wrapped it around myself as I dragged myself to the door. "Coming, coming," I said as I pressed a button on the wall. The doors slid open, and standing nearly nose to nose with me was Admiral Brock Foster.

The Admiral was exceptionally young looking. I knew he had to be at least in his late sixties, but he didn't seem a nanosecond past thirty. I had once asked him about it. "A balanced diet and lots of exercise," he had responded.

I straightened instantly, flung my arms behind my back and locked my hands together. The Admiral smiled. "As you were, Commander." I relaxed my stance, but only slightly.

"Admiral, welcome to DS2. Please come in. Lights." The room illuminated to full intensity, making me squint. I stepped back from the door, and with an extended hand, offered the Admiral admittance into my quarters.

"Yes, thank you," he said. Admiral Foster stepped through the threshold, walked to my dining table, sat down and propped his feet up onto the table.

"Make yourself at home," I said, slightly perturbed. "How have you been, Admiral?"

"Let's skip the small talk," he said shortly. His demeanor quickly turned fierce. "I'm promoting you to captain, and giving you the ship I came in on."

My breath caught in my throat. A ship? I hadn't served aboard a starship in my entire career. What was he talking about?

"Breathe," he said, obviously noticing the shock in my face. I exhaled slowly, trying to give myself a few extra seconds to come up with some way to turn him down.

"Sir," I said finally, looking at his nose so I wouldn't have to look into his glaring eyes, "I think my talents are best put to use here... on this station."

"_U.S.S. Guardian_. _Guardian_-class. Registry number NX-74915," he said, ignoring me. "Your first mission will be to field test the Mark I Quantum Slipstream Engine."

"Slipstream?" I blinked. I rattled my brain for some sign of recognition, but none came.

"During its time in the Delta Quadrant, the _Voyager _encountered a race with an advanced system of propulsion. They called it 'Slipstream'. It's likened to the Borg Transwarp drive, but far more advanced. The _Guardian_ has been fitted with a Federation-type Slipstream Drive that you will be testing out. Effective immediately, you are hereby reassigned to the _Guardian_."

"But--"

"Lieutenant Tonner will be promoted to commander, and she will be taking over the station," the Admiral said flatly. His tone indicated that there would be no discussion. Suddenly, the Admiral tossed a small black, velvety box toward me. I barely caught it before it smacked into my abdomen.

I pulled off the lid. Inside the box laid white, shiny material, but it was what laid in the very center of the material that caught my eye. Though it was small, the meaning was titanic. A small, round, golden pip stared up at me. Suddenly the box felt very, very heavy. My weary eyes flickered up to the Admiral.

"May I get dressed?" I asked, sighing. The Admiral stood, nodded his head, and quickly exited my quarters. This was going to turn out to be an interesting day...


	2. Chapter 2

_Admirals Log: Stardate 58112.45. I've arrived at DS2, but it seems that I was too late. The entire station has been slaughtered. What could have done this...?_

**************

My headache was getting much worse. This was one of those times that I wished I wasn't so... different. If I had been one of _them_, I could simply go to sickbay and have it taken care of. This, however, was out of the question.

I twirled my fork between my fingers while I waited for Tom. Boredom and pain felt like a lethal combination. I wasn't one who liked waiting, but the headache made it that much worse.

Fortunately, Tom stepped into the Mess Hall only moments later, sporting four pips on his collar. Though I knew that some part of him was prideful, I could easily see the fear across his face. It wasn't the fear of the unknown, no, but the fear of losing his crew. They had served him well these last few years. It was unfortunate that none of them would be here in the coming days.

I stood and quickly walked to Tom, extending my hand. Tom grabbed it and shook it firmly. "Captain," I said with a smile. I felt the faces of the officers around us turn in our direction at the word. A quick glance confirmed it. The gaping mouths of numerous people nearly made me chuckle, but I refrained.

"Admiral," he replied, giving a small nod.

I led him out of the Mess Hall, and we walked side-by-side to the docking ring. Crewmen shot quick glances as us as they passed by. It was all I could do not to laugh.

"I have a request," Tom said, looking at the ground while he walked. "I'd like to transfer Lieutenant McClure to the _Guardian._"

"McClure isn't familiar with the engine design. Don't worry, Captain, you'll have a very capable engineering staff."

"Lieutenant McClure is a very fast learner," he said quickly, "give her a day or two, and she'll be able to take apart that engine and put it back together again." I looked at him from the corner of my eye. He seemed almost... sad.

"Very well," I agreed. We arrived at the docking ring moments later. From the viewport beside the door, we had a spectacular view of the _Guardian_.

"Is that how Starfleet makes ships now?" Tom said in awe. "It looks like a mix between an _Intrepid_-class and an Earth crawfish."

I laughed. "That's the best description I've ever heard." I stared at the ship and tried to imagine it as a gigantic crustacean. The ship was very flat: only eight decks. The saucer section did look a lot like the _Intrepid_-class's but the body style was quite different. There were only two decks below the saucer, which were just big enough to house the Main Deflector Dish. The two nacelles were positioned so that the front of them were directly attached to the sides of the ship, while the back of them curved together and came to a point at the back. "Yeah, I guess it does kind of look like a crawfish," I admitted.

"What kind of armament does she have?" he asked, moving from one side of the viewport to the other, trying to get a full view of the ship.

"She has eighteen phaser banks, two rapid fire transphasic torpedo tubes, four type-II quantum torpedo tubes, and six type-V burst fire photon torpedo tubes. She has a dual auto-modulated shield system, heavy tritanium double-hull with ten centimeters of static ablative armor and auto-regeneration nodes, adaptive ablative armor generator, and a quantum-level structural integrity field," I cited proudly.

Tom turned toward me and his face turned serious. "What are we hunting, Admiral?"

I locked eyes with him, giving the most severe look I could muster. "You'll receive further orders once we test the Slipstream engines, Captain."

Tom's head whipped around to to the ship once more. "Aye, Sir."


	3. Chapter 3

_Captain's Personal Log: Stardate 58112.6. I've been explicitly ordered not to make any official logs until further notice by Admiral Foster. I have an uneasy feeling in my stomach that he's chosen me to command this ship for something other than my abilities. I feel that there are other motives at work here..._

**************

I was generally shocked by how narrow the corridors were when I first stepped foot into the _Guardian_. This ship was definitely not designed for beauty, though it was extremely beautiful externally. Internally, however, the bulkheads were a dull silver, and the floor was perhaps a shade darker. Aesthetics were lost here.

The Admiral led me down one corridor after another until we eventually came to a turbolift. I followed him into it. "Main bridge," he said, leaning against the back wall of the lift. Something was clearly bothering him, but I knew pursuing the issue wouldn't get me an answer. I decided to let him tell me on his own terms.

The lift doors opened. The main bridge was like nothing I had ever seen before. The first thing that caught my eye was the viewscreen, or perhaps _viewwall_ would be a better word. The viewscreen wrapped around the circular bridge to form a semicircle, and extended upwards to form the illusion that exactly half the bridge was windowed, though I could see from the station that the bridge had no windows. In the extreme front were two pod-like structures that housed the Conn and Ops stations. To the extreme back-center of the bridge were the Captain and Commander chairs, and on either side of them, positioned near the beginning of the "viewwall" were two other pod structures; one for engineering and the other for tactical. On either side of the Command Chairs housed wall consoles for various Sciences and other functions.

"A beauty, isn't she?" the Admiral said, standing proudly beside me.

"It's definitely different," I responded. I actually really liked the design, but it was so extremely different to what I was used to. It would take some time to get comfortable here. Something suddenly registered in my mind that I was almost shocked that I hadn't noticed before. "Admiral, where is the crew?"

The Admiral's lips slowly curved into a smile. "Activate crew..."

Suddenly the entire room was filled with people. Some were sitting at the stations, while others walked around, checking various information on the wall consoles. I nearly jumped from surprise. "Surely not the entire crew is holographic..." I said in astonishment, watching the crew busily go about their duties.

"Of course not," the Admiral said. "You're not holographic, and neither is Miss McClure who should have just arrived a few moments ago."

_Oh no_, I thought. Bethany had no idea about the holographic crew. If she was onboard when they were activated, she was probably scared senseless. Poor girl. "Why a holographic crew?"

"For two reasons, really," he said, stroking his chin. "First of all, this vessel is top secret, and as of now only six people have ever walked onto it. The less people that know about it, the less chance there is that our enemies would learn about our recent advancements.

"Secondly, a holographic crew can't feel fear, freeze up, or die, for that matter. They're incredibly efficient and obedient. Don't worry, they'll grow on you." He turned to face the front of the bridge. "We need to get underway immediately, however. Helm, set a course for the Alconian Sector. Warp eight."

I quickly calculated the position of inquiry. "Sir, that's empty space. There's nothing within two lightyears of there."

"There's _some _chance that when we activate the Slipstream Drive, we may... explode. We need to be in an area where it won't cause any harm to anyone else. Engage."

I was surprised at how quiet the warp engines were. There was no sudden jolt that accompanied the jump to warp, but then again, I hadn't been on any of the newer ship models. The newest ship I had been on was the _USS Johnson_, which was an old _Ambassador_-class. The _Johnson_ had been the ship to drop me off at DS2. There were quite a few upgrades since then.

Over the next twelve hours, the Admiral briefed me on the technical capabilities of the ship and it's new engines. I must say that I was rather impressed, but I still had the feeling that we would be going hunting. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't shake it.

"Let's get some sleep," the Admiral said, patting me on the shoulder. "We'll be at our destination in about six hours. Then the _real _fun begins."


	4. Chapter 4

I could feel a certain level of tension in the room as the crew began performing last minute system checks on the Slipstream Drive. Since the crew was largely holographic - save the Main Engineer - and the Admiral seemed completely at ease, I suppose most of the tension was coming from me. I fidgeted in my chair, feeling awkward.

"System check complete, Captain," said the hologram at Ops.

"Where to, Admiral?" I asked.

Without looking up, he punched in coordinates into his arm-control panel. "We'll start out with something small. Engage the Slipstream Drive."

I noticed a slight vibration, and I felt even more uneasy. Was he serious when he had said we might explode before? That was something that I definitely did _not _want to do. My fears were in vain, however, as I saw a blue and white swirling tunnel appear on the viewscreen. It was beautiful in a way; unlike anything I had ever seen before.

"It's different, isn't it?" the Admiral said, still looking at his console. I didn't respond, but kept my eyes fixed on the tunnel. I felt as if I took them off, the tunnel would collapse with us in it.

It did collapse, however.

"We've reached the coordinates," came a voice from the helm.

_I should really ask if they have names_, I thought.

"How far did we go?" I asked.

"One light year."

_Impossible! How could we have traveled so far in a matter of minutes? Was this ship _really _that fast?_

"Amazing..."

"Captain, if I may see you in your Ready Room." I looked over to see the Admiral staring at me. The intensity of his stare shocked me slightly. I nodded.

I was glad when the Admiral didn't sit in my seat. It made me feel a little more in charge, though I knew this was definitely not the case. I had no idea what was going on, but I felt that he was about to let me know.

"On stardate 50984, the _Voyager _came into contact with a race that the Borg named Species 8472. The Borg had invaded 8472's realm in a failed effort to assimilate them. 8472 made quick work of the Borg."

_Quick work?_

"They posed a serious threat to _Voyager _as well, so the crew worked on a way to combat the beings which eventually brought an end to the Borg-8472 war.

"Two years later, _Voyager_ happened upon a terrasphere that 8472 was using. They had recreated nearly perfect simulations of Starfleet Academy, and genetically altered themselves to appear human."

He paused, so I took the opportunity. "Why would they do that?"

"They planned on infiltrating Starfleet," he said with a smile. "We've detected a singularity much like the one that _Voyager_ encountered here in the Alpha Quadrant. Your mission is to investigate the singularity, and to close it if at all possible. You'll be dropping me off back at DS2 where a transport ship will get me in a few days. You'll be on your own. We'll be using the Slipstream Drive to get back, so we should be back at DS2 in about fifteen minutes."

I sighed. "So let me get this straight. I will be investigating a portal into another realm with aliens that nearly wiped out the Borg on a ship that has never been tested in battle?"

"Exactly."

"Alright," I said, standing. "I just wanted to make sure I know what I'm up against."


End file.
